The World We Live In
by FoxtrotUnicorn
Summary: Anika isn't a normal girl, but then neither are her circumstances. Based around Robert Kirkman's 'The Walking Dead', this is the story of a young girl trying to survive the apocalypse. None of the original characters from the comics or AMC's adaption of the series will be present in this story, and for the sake of keeping it fictional, the location is not specified either. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Something woke her suddenly, though she didn't know what. Anika's eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright. She looked around her dark room, letting her eyes adjust. She swallowed and tried to push the pain in her head to the back of her mind. Light filtered into her room between the curtains opposite her bed. When she'd let herself sink into consciousness, Anika pushed the sheets off her and swung her legs over the edge of her bed, her feet resting on the first step of the ladder of her loft bed. She rubbed her eyes and slowly made her way down the unstable ladder until she felt the cool wood of the floor on her bare feet. Pulling her black jeans on, Anika fumbled around on her dresser trying to find her phone to check the time. Eight thirty. Too early.

Anika stripped off her Star Wars t-shirt and started searching through her draws for a clean shirt. She clumsily pulled on her black t-shirt with the lion on it. Too much black. She went to her wardrobe and found a red and grey flannel shirt to wear. As she stumbled out into the hallway she yawned and looked around the house, only remembering as she entered her parent's study that she was the only one home. They had gone to Oslo because her father had some kind of conference there and her mother had wanted to go along with him. Her brother was in India and had been since late November on a student volunteer program. Neither of her sisters lived at home any more, and one of them was in Thailand on a holiday.

Every one was out of town except Anika and her sister, Louise. Louise couldn't even come to Port Farthing with them on the Christmas break except on weekends. The Academy only gave the recruits their weekends off, and even then Louise spent much of her time studying so she could top the class in the next exam. She was a dork, but she was keen, and Anika had to give her that. If anyone was going to graduate from the Academy and join the police force it was her sister. Anika just worried sometimes that Louise had this crazy romanticised idea about the whole thing. Like she was going to be John McClane or something.

She wandered down to the kitchen and searched for food. _Crap,_ she thought. She needed to go shopping. There was no cereal, no fruit, no milk - just her mother's ridiculous stash of canned goods and a shitload of alcohol. Having had the house to herself the past few days, Anika had made a habit of drinking a lot and eating junk food. It didn't help that she had the worst metabolism ever and never put on all that much weight. She had the worst diet and had no motivation to change it. At least she didn't smoke, like her brother. He had promised her he'd quit the night he graduated. He didn't. What's worse was that he rolled his own cigarettes. What a fucking tosser. Anika had always thought it was never any of her business what shit people consumed. She herself was no role model for healthy living.

But the thought of her brother getting sick like practically all smokers inevitably do made her worry, not to mention her strange feeling that he had to outlive her - at least by six minutes - because that was how she thought it worked when she was just a little kid; that they were twins so they'd die at the same time. It would have been cute if it weren't so morbid. And stupid. She'd only confirmed her belief that she was older when she applied for her Learner's permit. The birth certificate read 'elder of twins'. Anika didn't even care that the licence meant she could drive. There was a small and childish victory in having that superiority; those six minutes.

Finding some chips and a juice box, Anika accepted that this was the beast meal she'd get unless she bothered to walk to the bakery. No. She turned on the TV as she went to find her iPod and phone. She wanted to figure out what to do with the day but she also wanted to listen to music. She and her iPod were inseparable. She didn't do anything without it. She put in her earphones and scrolled through her playlists. She decided to play the thing on shuffle instead, certain that of the excessive amount of options due to her constant downloading that she'd find something she hadn't heard before. Bipolar Breakdown by Iron Butterfly started to pour into her ears. Anika smiled, satisfied. She picked up her phone and found there were three new texts. She frowned. No one ever texted her this early. She unlocked the phone to read her messages as she wandered back out into the living room to sit in front of the TV.

The first message was from her sister.

_Hey, are you at home? You're not answering the land line._

Anika checked to see if she had any missed calls, wondering if the house phone ringing was what woke her. She frowned when she saw she had eight missed calls, six from Louise and two from an unknown number. She decided to call her sister. Someone picked up on the second ring.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Louise wasn't shouting into the receiver, but she must have been on loudspeaker because Anika could hear the background noise.

"Woah, what's up? I was sleeping. You know the day doesn't start for me until at least eleven." Anika had noticed the hint of worry in Louise's voice, and she never swore like that.

"Doesn't matter. Stay inside, don't go anywhere and... lock the house."

"What? Why?" Anika laughed nervously.

"Just... I'll be there soon the traffic is - Watch it, asshole!" Anika knew Louise wasn't talking to her at that point.

"What's going on?"

"Please, I don't know. Just stay put." Louise pleaded. Anika clenched her jaw. Something was up.

"Okay, okay." She furrowed her brow, a million possibilities running through her mind.

"I love you." Louise hung up.

Anika's stomach flipped. She and her sister were close, but there was something so sincere about the way her sister spoke those final words. She looked up at the TV then and she had to turn the volume on to hear what the man on the news was saying. Her music still played in one ear, but it was just background noise at that moment.

"People are advised to stay in their homes and to avoid strangers who look unwell. It is believed that the illness is extremely contagious, transferred through bites and scratches. Symptoms include hallucinations and violent behaviour. For these reasons authorities ask that civilians remain calm and -"

The TV flickered and the sound was lost for a moment, leaving the solemn reporter speaking inaudibly for a split second before coloured bars appeared on the screen and a loud hollow monotonous sound played.


	2. Chapter 2

Anika noticed then that she'd stopped breathing, and had been clenching her fists. She swallowed, trying to understand what she'd just heard. She picked up the TV remote and tried to search the other channels. Nothing. She turned off the Tv and looked down at her phone. There were still two other messages she hadn't read. She stood and ran her hand through hair. The first of the unread messages was from Louise.

_Anika stay put I'm coming pack light we need to prepare for the worst their saying its bad I'll be there in twenty minutes._

Anika ignored the spelling and grammar mistakes and went to read the last message, her hands shaking. It was from Izzy.

_Hey hun where are you? Your sister called me, she sounds worried. Call me. x_

Anika instantly dialled her friend's number, ripping the ear phones from her and throwing her iPod on the couch. The phone rang but no one answered. Anika swore under her breath. Her mind was racing and questions started to race through it. Thoughts that scared her. Where was Izzy? Was she hurt? What was happening? Could she be dead? What was this sickness? What about Louise? How far had this thing spread? Violence and hallucinations. Violence. Avoid strangers. Violent strangers.

"Shit!" Anika threw her phone at the couch when Izzy didn't answer again. She ran to find the keys and started locking up, closing the curtains and running around the house. She couldn't stay here, it was too dangerous. Violent strangers? Who were hallucinating? What was stopping them from wandering into her property or coming into the house? Anika needed to be ready when her sister came. She found a sturdy backpack and shoved another pair of jeans, a t-shirt and another shirt into it. She went to her wardrobe and pulled out her black leather vest on. It had a large red dragon on the back, and it might have seemed childish, but she loved it and it made her feel kind of tough. Safer. Anika pulled her black coat out and found her big red boots and pulled them on, lacing them up for the first time ever. If she needed to run anywhere, she wanted to know her shoes were going to stay on her feet. She normally just tucked the laces in and scuffed around in those boots all day but that was impractical now.

Rushing to the kitchen, Anika packed some bottled water and canned food into her bag, not knowing how long she'd need it to last. Then she grabbed her gold wrist watch. Last she went out to the shed to find some sort of defensive weapon. Anika had seen enough apocalyptic movies to know she didn't want to be the asshole who showed up empty handed. She kicked the door in, knowing the only person who had keys to the shed was her father. As she scanned the small dark interior, her eyes rested on an axe.

"Fuck yes." She grabbed it and leant it against the door as she searched for other necessities. That's when she heard the screams. Anika froze. She'd never heard a sound like that, but she knew instantly it was the sound of people dying, and it sent a chill up her spine. She quietly left the shed and stood with the axe rested on her shoulder as she turned her head up to the sky, her ears pricking up like a dog's. There was silence, and then more screams. They were coming from all directions; the apartment complex next door, the house over the back fence and - out the front of the house, in the street. Alexa hurried back inside and locked the back door. There was a gate down the side of the house, but she felt strangely exposed out in her open yard, not wanting to risk coming across any unfriendliness.

After grabbing some duct tape, some matches and her brother's favourite lighter, Anika grabbed a torch, her iPod and phone and a fancy kitchen knife her mother never used. She tucked it into her belt and grabbed her sunglasses and a kerchief, scanning the house once more before walking soundlessly to the front door and looking through the peep hole. There were a few people wandering around in the street, and one in the front yard. She didn't recognise the man, but as he turned slightly in her direction she saw a large gash on his face and a chunk of flesh was missing from his shoulder. He had been bleeding profusely and there was a dark red stain on his blue shirt. Anika's stomach flipped and for a moment she felt ill. She stepped back from the door and swallowed hard. Was he one of the sick people? Should she help him?

'Avoid strangers...' the reporter's voice came into her head again. Anika contemplated his warning words, and she licked her dry lips. She looked through the peep hole again. The man was gone. How was he walking around with a wound like that? Anika went into her parents room, remembering her father's binoculars, and put them in her bag. She sensed they might come in handy.

"Where the fuck are you?" Anika asked aloud as she glanced at her watch, knowing her sister was late.

She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and dialled her sister's number before grabbing her fathers car keys and leaning against the study door as she held the phone to her ear. No answer. She swore again, and then remembered the missed call from that other number. She called it without another second's thought. Someone answered - a young guy - but he didn't sound familiar, just scared.

"H-hello?"

"Yeah, hi... uh, I have a missed call from this number..."

"Anika?" There was relief in his voice now, but Anika had no idea who she was talking to.

"Yeah." She furrowed her brow. Then the boy spoke again, though not to her.

"It's Anika! She called back!" Anika heard fumbling on the other end of the line and then a familiar voice spoke as Anika suddenly felt joy well up inside her.

"Ani?" Izzy's voice was shaking, and Anika guessed her friend had been crying.

"Izzy!"

"Where the fuck are you?!" Izzy sounded scared, and that made Anika angry.

She'd always been protective of her friend, who was always so sweet and naive. If she was ever upset about anything Anika vowed to find the source of her sadness and punch the mother fucker in the face. She was protective of her friend, and everything that was going on flooded in and she felt angry tears swirl into her eyes.

"I'm at home. I spoke to Louise, she's coming to get me. Where are you?"

"At home. But it's just me and Mike. My parents went to walk the dogs really early and they still aren't back -" her voice broke. Anika felt her stomach twist, but she swallowed and ignored it.

"Where's your brother?"

"Kyle's at his girlfriend's, but he's not answering his phone, and we called like ten times." Izzy was crying now, and Anika felt some comfort in knowing her boyfriend was there to comfort her.

"Put Mike on the phone." Izzy complied without question.

"Hey." Mike sounded like he was trying to be tough, but even on the phone Anika could tell he wasn't being so convincing.

"Mike, I need you to listen to me carefully." Anika felt proud of herself for sounding more convincingly brave than her friend.

"Did you see the news? There were people eating... eating other people. It's so fucked up!" Anika clenched her jaw, unable to believe what she'd heard and determined to control the situation. She spoke through clenched teeth.

"Mike."

"- I can't.. and we're here alone and we can hear it and -"

"Mike!" He was rambling and not listening to her. Part of Anika couldn't blame him. Mike wasn't a big guy. He was shorter than her, but taller than Izzy, and he was skinny too. He wasn't dumb, but he was no genius. And he was not built to handle crises.

"There's a dead. Body. On the driveway." He emphasised the words as if he were trying to believe it himself. "Anika. We're all gonna fucking die."

Anika snapped. "MICHAEL!" Anika yelled. There was silence, telling her he was finally listening. She ran a hand through her hair as she spoke. "Where are your parents?"

There was more silence.

"Mike?"

"They're gone." His voice wavered, and Anika felt a rush of horror.

"Gone?" She didn't really want to ask, but she needed to know what was going on."

"Yeah... they - Mum attacked Dad. She - she bit him. A-and then he bled out on the floor and I had to -" He broke off and Anika heard him sobbing.

"Mike." This time her voice wasn't stern, it was filled with sympathy.

"She came at me so I pushed her back and her head hit the kitchen table. And then I just ran. I ran here because I didn't know what to do." His voice was shaking and he kept sobbing and Anika knew he was crying.

"Mike I need you to listen to me."

"Okay." She heard him clear his throat. She wiped her nose on her sleeve and stood up to look through the peep hole of the door as she spoke.

"Lock the doors. Pack a bag each - only necessary stuff; a change of clothes, water, and duct tape if you have any."

"Why?"

"I don't know, it just might come in handy and I can't find enough around my place."

"No, I mean why are we packing."

"I'm going to come and get you guys. I'm not leaving you there. We need people right now."

"But, what about you?" It was Izzy this time. Mike had put the phone on loud speaker.

"I'll be fine. Don't underestimate my will power. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Ani," her friend whined.

"No. No time for that. I need you to be strong. Mike grab some of Kyle's clothes, you can't go home."

"I know."

Anika winced. "Of course you do. I'm sorry Mike." She was pacing the hall. "And find something to defend yourself with. Don't let anyone in. Anyone, understand?"

"Yes." They both replied.

"We're going to be just fine." Anika forced all the authority she had into her voice, hoping that her friends could take comfort in her certainty, but she felt tears welling up inside of her, knowing that her friends were helpless and so was she and she didn't know where her sister was or if what she said was true.

"Stay put." She hung up then, not wanting to say goodbye, and not wanting Mike and Izzy to hear her cry.


	3. Chapter 3

**OK this chapter is short, sorry but bare with me.**

**REVIEW please?! I have no idea if this is terrible or not haha.**

Anika shook her head in frustration and then looked at her phone again, dialling her sister's number once again. She couldn't keep this up much longer. She couldn't stay here. She looked through the peep hole of the door as the phone rang out. There was a car pulled to a stop on the curb outside her neighbour's house, the driver's door open and the motor still running. Anika saw the keys hanging from the ignition. There were no people around, however, and she could see no sign of the man who had been standing in the yard. People eating other people. Mike's words rang in her ears as she thought of the man's wound. And Mike's parents. And her parents.

"The person you have called is currently unavailable." Anika flinched as she remembered the phone on her ear. She hung up and swore angrily, throwing her phone away from her.

"If you don't show up here in five minutes, I'm leaving" She warned, as if her sister could hear her. But she had the other two counting on her, waiting for her. A lot could happen in five minutes. Anika punched the wall in frustration. She stood with her forehead rested on the wall and her eyes closed, breathing heavily. For a moment there was silence, peace. Then her eyes opened, she checked herself over, and opened the front door a crack, axe ready in her hand. She took a deep breath, shifting her feet to ready herself, and then she stepped out into the light.


End file.
